Democrats OK cuts in Family to Family program

CARSON CITY — Democrats on Tuesday voted to slash about $2.5 million from a program that helps low-income parents with everything from making healthy baby food to calming fussy infants.

The vote to move forward with cuts proposed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval to the state’s Family to Family program came over objections of Democrats who predicted more abuse and neglect of children.

The vote was an early opportunity for Democrats, the majority in the Legislature, to act against spending cuts they decried as detrimental to low-income Nevadans hurt most by the recession.

Instead, they avoided a confrontation with Sandoval by voting to cut all dedicated Family to Family money and putting Family Resource Centers, which provide similar services, on a priority list for "add backs" if more money is found.

"For me, this is one of those really, really painful decisions," said Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, who supported the motion.

"It is the first of many that we are going to be making."

The Family to Family program is cited as an example of how Sandoval’s proposal to cap state spending for 2011-13 at $5.8 billion, rather than raise taxes, puts politics ahead of services for the poor.

Democrats have bemoaned the cuts but do not have the two-thirds majority needed to increase taxes or override a gubernatorial veto.

During a hearing before legislators in February, clients of the program and their children testified how the program helped them cope with family challenges.

One woman said the program helped her deal with becoming a single parent after her marriage failed.

A Family to Family board member told lawmakers that without the safety net program, "emotional toil can lead to isolation, neglect and abuse."

During the February hearing, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, described the program as money well-spent.

"I would dare anyone to visit one of these facilities and tell me there is fat or there is excess," Horsford said. "Once you take this away, there will be nothing left for those families."

But on Tuesday, the Senate Finance/Assembly Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee on Human Services voted 6-3 for the cut with the caveat that Family Resource Centers would be a priority should money be available, and they would take on eliminated Family to Family programs.

The three Republicans who voted no said they agreed with the spending cut but not making the program an add-back priority.

The budget needs to be approved by full money committees in both chambers and rolled into a larger budget before it becomes final.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.